Asian American Literature

Dragon’s Gate

Bibliography

Yep, Laurence. 1993. DRAGON’S GATE. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060229713.

Plot Summary

Otter lives with his mother in China while his father is away in America working for the railroad. One night while Otter is out with his friend, he gets into an argument with a Manchu soldier, who falls on his weapon and dies. Otter’s mother sends him to America to work with his father. However, Otter learns that the Golden Mountain is not everything that he has heard about and is thrown into a life of slavery.

Critical Analysis

The Chinese culture can be seen throughout the whole story. However, the actual Chinese words are shown in English, but to show when the American characters are speaking, the words become italicized. The importance of family in the Chinese culture can be seen at the beginning of the story when Otter is still living with his mother. The reader can get a sense of the importance of family when Otter’s father and uncle come back from America and the whole town gathers to welcome them while Otter’s mother presents her husband with embroidered slippers. The importance of home is also seen when Otter’s father lovingly traces the lattice and says, “Now I know I’m home” (28). Distinctive events like this give the reader a sense of longing that the father had for home and makes it relatable to the reader.

The setting of the story takes place in China and Nevada where the reader embarks on a journey of the differences of the two places. In China Otter’s father is seen as a hero, but in Nevada he is no more than a slave who works on breaking the mountain. The Nevada mountain is an important part of the story because it is where Otter learns more about his father, about his uncle, and about himself. Otter develops hatred toward the mountain that drives him on in his work.

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: “Yep uses the lively storytelling techniques of his "Dragon" fantasy-adventure novels to re-create a stirring historical event-here, the construction of the transcontinental railroad.”

Kirkus Reviews: “In a story enlivened with humor and heroism, Yep pays tribute to the immigrants who played such a vital role in our country's history.”

Connections

-Have young adult readers discuss the hardships that Chinese railroad workers faced and how Otter’s actions changed the whole camp.

-The reader will discuss how the characters felt being so far from home. Then the reader can make a list of things that they cherish or think about when they reflect on their home.

Further reading about Asian American history:

Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki. FAREWELL TO MANZANAR: A TRUE STORY OF JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE DURING AND AFTER THE WORLD WAR II INTERNMENT. ISBN 0553272586

Kadohata, Cynthia. WEEDFLOWER. ISBN 0689865740

Recorvits, Helen. MY NAME IS YOON. ISBN 0374351147

Uchida, Yoshiko. A JAR OF DREAMS. ISBN 0689716729

Uchida, Yoshiko. JOURNEY TO TOPAZ. ISBN 1890771910

Tree of Cranes

Bibliography

Say, Allen. 1991. TREE OF CRANES. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039552024X

Plot Summary

One cold day the boy plays in a neighbor’s pond and gets sick. His mother sends him to bed but does not keep him company, so the boy feels that his mother is very angry at him for going to the pond. However, later he sees his mother digging up a tree that was planted when he was born. As they decorate the tree together, she explains to him the meaning of Christmas.

Critical Analysis

The Japanese culture can be seen greatly in Say’s illustrations. The home does not look like a typical American house. There are wooden sliding doors, the characters wear wrapped clothing, and the boy’s bed is on the floor. Say puts a lot of detail of the Japanese culture into each picture, from the chopsticks that the boy uses to eat his rice gruel to his “Papa’s big cup” with Japanese symbols (14).

The setting of the story mainly takes place at the pond and in his home. Not only does the reader get a sense of calmness from the pictures, but also of loneliness when the boy is eating his gruel alone. The reader can see the sad expression on the boy’s face. However, the reader also comes to understand the relationship between the boy and his mother. The reader gets a sense that the boy does not like to disappoint his mother and that he cherishes the time he spends with her, especially when he is sick and wants his mother to be with him.

At the end of the story the reader learns that the mother was from California and gets a sense of how she misses Christmas. You can almost hear the longing in her voice when she whispers to the boy that she lived in “A warm place called Ca-li-for-ni-a” (20). The celebration and idea of Christmas is passed from her childhood to that of her son as she decorates the tree and the boy discovers a present under the tree the next morning. 

Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly: “The story is a poignant one, illuminated with finely drawn illustrations reflecting the serenity of a Japanese home and the quiet love between mother and son.”

Kirkus Reviews: “Geometric forms in the austere Japanese architecture provide a serene background for softer lines defining the appealing little boy and his pensive mother.”

Connections

-Have an origami lesson and let children hang their origami on a tree or in a window.

-Discuss relationship that the child has with his mother.

Further reading of the Asian American culture growing up in America as an Asian American:

Cummings, Mary. THREE NAMES OF ME. ISBN 0807579033

Kadohata, Cynthia. KIRA-KIRA. ISBN 0689856407

Mochizuki, Ken. BASEBALL SAVED US. ISBN 1880000199

Say, Allen. GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY. ISBN 0395570352

Yang, Gene Luen. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. ISBN 1596431520

This Next New Year

Bibliography

Wong, Janet S. 2000. THIS NEXT NEW YEAR. Ill by. Yangsook Choi

Plot Summary

A celebration of Chinese New Year is underway in this story. A Chinese-Korean boy is excited about all of the celebrations to come, such as lighting fireworks, eating “duk gook, the Korean new year soup,” and getting money in red envelopes (Wong 3).

Critical Analysis

Several cultures are discussed throughout the story and give the reader an understanding of how various cultures celebrate Chinese New Year. The young boy in the story describes how his friends, such as his Hopi-Mexican friend who receives the red envelopes with money from her neighbor, to his French-German friend whose family orders Thai takeout. Everyone in the community, regardless of their culture, enjoys the Chinese New Year celebration as each celebrates it in his own special way.

The illustrations throughout the book reflect the warmth and excitement of the celebration to come. This is especially seen in the illustration of the family sitting down together eating the “duk gook.” The facial expressions on the characters are welcoming to the reader and give off the excitement of the moment, especially of the bond and friendship that they have toward one another.

The setting of the story is mainly in the young boy’s home where he helps his mother “…move these mountains of bad luck off the floor and into the trash...” as they prepare to welcome good luck into the house. The home is a focal point in the story and the celebration because it is about getting rid of the bad things in life and welcoming a fresh start to the new things to expect in the next year.    

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: “Youngsters will enjoy the bright colors and the sense of motion and activity conveyed as the boy helps his mother clean, flosses his teeth, and cringes from the noise of the firecrackers.”

Booklist: “Children of diverse backgrounds will connect with the boy's earnest desire to help change the family's luck and realize his own potential.”

Connections

-Celebrate Chinese New Year by inviting Asian Americans from the community to come and speak to the children.

-Invite Asian American dance groups to celebrate Chinese New Year by performing New Year dances for the children.

Further reading about Asian American celebrations:

Chin, Oliver. THE YEAR OF THE DOG: TALES FROM THE CHINESE ZODIAC. ISBN 1597020028

Demi. HAPPY NEW YEAR! KUNG-SHI FA-TS’ AI. ISBN 0517709570

Lin, Grace. BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR. ISBN 0375837450

Vaughan, Marcia K. THE DANCING DRAGON. ISBN 1572551348

Waters, Kate. LION DANCER: ERNIE WAN’S CHINESE NEW YEAR. ISBN 0590430475